CCJ ONsite editors caught up with three members of the steering committee for the Australasian HRSG Users Group—Chairman Barry Dooley of Structural Integrity Associates Inc, Bob Anderson of Competitive Power Resources, and David Addison of Thermal Chemistry Ltd—a couple of weeks ago to get the highlights of last November’s AHUG meeting summarized below. Presentation details will be published in the coming weeks.

Interestingly, several of the hot topics at that conference are included in the agenda for the second annual HRSG Forum with Bob Anderson, which begins with an evening reception March 4 in the Hyatt Regency Houston and runs through March 7. Both Anderson and Dooley will be speaking at the HRSG Forum and sharing best practices and lessons learned from their participation in HRSG and allied meetings worldwide—including Western Europe and Russia. It’s an unprecedented opportunity to learn what works/what doesn’t worldwide without leaving the US.

The 2017 AHUG conference, the organization’s 10^th, was held November 14-16 in Sydney. It attracted about five dozen participants from Australia, New Zealand, Finland, Japan, UK, and US. The International Association for the Properties of Water and Steam (IAPWS) was a supporting organization.

The highly interactive meeting incorporated information and technology related to HRSGs, case studies of plant issues and solutions, and topical open discussions among plant users, equipment suppliers, and industry consultants. Presentation/discussion highlights included the following:

• • International updates on HRSG cycle chemistry, instrumentation, and FAC as well as the recent IAPWS Technical Guidance Documents in these areas—including the application of film-forming substances. 

  • International updates on HRSG thermal transient aspects associated with attemperators, condensate, return and superheater and reheater drain management.

  • Discussions on how to identify and remedy the root cause of premature erosion in HP turbine bypass pressure control valves. 

  • Dry-ice cleaning of fireside surfaces including an example of a new method for recovering lost steam temperature.

  • Latest experience with expansion joints.

  • Numerous examples supporting the taking of samples for metallurgical examination as the first step in root-cause analysis.

  • Extensive discussion and information on the optimum approach for HP drum-to-downcomer cracking.

  • Explanation and discussion on the oft-misunderstood large fatigue-damage accumulation in pressure parts attributed to forced cooling of the GT/HRSG.

  • Extensive information about detecting and remedying corrosion under insulation.

  • Update on the new ultrasonic/automatic HP superheater/reheater drain control system with experience on new Nooter/Erikson HRSGs. 

  • Workshop on materials issues in HRSGs, including discussions on Grade 91 alloys, overheating, oxide growth and exfoliation of superheater/reheater materials, plus the technical and managerial aspects of boiler inspections.